If the ship held together.
“You comfortable?” Herzer asked as the void around them began to burn.
“I’m in your lap, aren’t I?” Megan asked coyly.
“So you are,” Herzer replied. The previous touches with the atmosphere had been light, but this one was much brighter and hotter. The atmosphere was actually being blown into plasma along the leading edge of the field-wings, flaring like a pale sun.
“This is very cool,” Herzer said as the ship began a slow turn to the right.
“Yes, it is,” Megan replied.
“And I never want to do it again,” Herzer continued. “What are we doing, anyway?”
“S turns,” Megan replied as the ship continued a radical turn. The light began to blaze all along the notional bottom of the ship, actually the starboard. “It’s a braking maneuver. I’m trying to get us down to a speed that won’t kill us when the ship hits.”
“I see,” Herzer said and he sort of did from flying dragons. This was rather different, however. Dragons only burned through the air if their napalm racks detonated in midflight. It happened.
“Where are we?” Megan asked.
“You don’t know?” Herzer replied, surprised.
“Not really,” Megan said. “Just be my eyes, okay?”
“Past Ropasa,” Herzer said after a moment, picking out the land forms through the clouds. “Headed to Hind across Taurania, I think.”
“Right on,” Megan muttered. She did another bank to the left, then winced as there was a shudder through the ship that lifted them off the deck.
“Whoa, horsey,” Herzer said, pulling her back down.
“We lost the port corridor member,” Megan said, tightly. “Right at the juncture with the midline circular support.”
“That’s not all we lost,” Herzer said, looking to the side. “We’re streaming something. Probably helium.”
“I can feel the shift in mass,” Megan replied. “We probably should have vented most of it anyway. I’ve got more than enough for the engines.”
“It’s pretty,” Herzer said, shifting to watch the helium stream past. As it hit the shield, and the atmosphere, it fluoresced in all the colors of the rainbow.
“I’m glad,” Megan said. “Where are we?”
“Hind,” Herzer said, definitely. The shape of the subcontinent was distinctive and mostly uncluttered by clouds. It was getting hard to see, though, through the waves of plasma around the ship.
“There,” Ishtar said to General Komellian, pointing up into the sky.
“The last spaceship, Greatness,” the general said sadly.
“There will be more when we win,” Ishtar promised, watching the massive streak of fire cross the sky.
“There,” Aikawa said, pointing to the south.
“A great omen, Your Worthiness,” Minister Chang replied, nodding. “A great omen.”
“Omen be damned,” Aikawa snapped. “Let’s just hope she can hold it together until it’s no longer a threat.”
“We’re over the Po’ele,” Herzer said. The plasma fire had died down but there was a deep rumbling through the whole structure that felt ominous. “Klicks and klicks of damn all but water.”
“Rachel told me a friend of hers was power skiing off Fiji when the Fall hit,” Megan said. “If we fall down there, even if I can slow us, we’ll drown in the ocean.”
“Better drop us somewhere close to land, then,” Herzer said.
“I’m heading for the Bimi Deeps,” Megan replied. “There’s enough area there that if I lose it, the waves won’t destroy much. And there’s a fleet exercising down there at the moment. Hopefully, we’ll land close to them.”
“Not too close,” Herzer said, imagining the tsunami from the impact. “Or we won’t have any ships to get to.”
“Not too close,” Megan agreed. “Close, but not too close.”
“You’re not banking anymore,” Herzer said.
“No, we’re mostly gliding,” the councilwoman said. “We’ll start banking again over Norau. Should be quite a sight.”
“They should be overhead,” Edmund said, shielding his eyes. “They should be in view.”
“I don’t see anything,” Colonel Jackson replied, looking up. The Navy rep had come out to the Frisso yards to examine the new cargo ship design and had liked what he’d seen. The Frisso yards were already doing a booming business in coastal ships and some of their work was directly useable by the Navy. He’d already recommended upgrading the Po’ele fleet. Just because New Destiny was concentrated on the Atlantis Ocean, didn’t mean that the UFS should ignore the Po’ele. Especially with yards, and trained seamen, at the ready.
“We’ve dumped every scrap of available power to keeping it from coming apart,” Edmund said, frowning. “I guess they’re just low enough and slow enough… wait. There,” he continued, pointing.
The ship had slowed enough that it was no longer making a burning trail across the sky. But it was a kilometer long. Even at two hundred thousand meters it was visible.
“Awesome,” Jackson said. “Simply awesome.”
“Norau passing under now,” Herzer said. “How high are we?”
“Too high,” Megan replied, banking to the right. The leading edge started to burn again as they entered thicker atmosphere and Herzer distinctly felt something give under his butt.
“I think we’re losing it,” he said calmly.
“Ya think?” Megan replied. “That was the port corridor cracking entirely. I’m holding it together with energy I can’t spare.”
“You’ll do it, honey,” Herzer said, pulling her more firmly into his lap as the ship began to shudder from the deeper atmosphere. “You’ll do it.”
“I can see Flora,” Herzer said a minute later. “We’re going really fast.”
“Too fast,” Megan said. “Too high. And I think we’re coming apart.”
“Well,” Herzer said, smiling tightly. “It’s a… little far to jump, dear.”
“No, it’s not,” Megan said, struggling in his arms. “Get ready.”
“You’re serious?” Herzer asked as the peninsula of Flora flashed by below them.
“Deadly,” Megan said.
“You promised you wouldn’t tell me to jump off the ship,” Herzer said.
“I lied,” Megan replied.
Herzer felt ghostly hands pluck at him and his armor was pulled apart and jettisoned to either side. A wind was evident for the first time. It felt… strange. Fast but… thin.
“We’re leaking,” Megan said, her own armor coming apart in sections and flying away to disappear over the side of the ship. They were left in only their suits and helmets.
“I don’t have any air,” Herzer pointed out. The helmets should have sealed when the armor and their support packs went away but that meant he was rebreathing his own breath. “Neither do you.”
“We’ll be fine,” Megan said as his helmet flew away.
“It’s way too thin up here…” Herzer started to say and then stopped. He could breathe normally.
“I’m holding a bubble around us,” Megan replied. “Just hang on for a second…”
They were coming down fast, now, no longer flying but dropping like a stone. Herzer could see the water getting closer and closer. It was still a long way off, but it was coming up fast. Much faster than free-fall.
“Megan,” he said, less calmly than usual.
“I’ve got us below reentry speeds,” Megan said, “but that’s the best I can do. This thing doesn’t have enough power to stop us from dropping.”